WaPo may cut staff, reports rival NY Times
The Washington Post, thought by some to be immune from the pressures facing smaller publications, may cut staff positions, according to a report in the rival New York Times, states MediaPost.
Quoting unnamed sources, continues MediaPost, “the Times writes that the Post now has fewer than the three million paying digital subscribers it had boasted of internally near the end of 2020. And digital ad revenue fell by 15% in the first half of 2022 YoY to roughly $70 million.
“Fred Ryan, the Post’s chief executive and publisher, has floated the idea of cutting 100 positions through hiring freezes for open jobs or in other ways, according to the Times—this in the year that the Post won the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for its reporting on the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. The newsroom now has approximately 1,000 employees.
“Sally Buzbee, the Post’s top editor, told the Times that the newsroom was, in fact, adding 150 positions. Ryan, Joy Robins, The Post’s chief revenue officer, and Buzbee, are overseeing a new initiative called “5 by 25,” an effort to reach five million total digital subscribers by 2025, the Times states.
“But the report also says “Mr. Ryan’s focus on productivity and office attendance in the newsroom has also been a source of tension.””
More here.
